Student representation exists to give students a say in their own education. A student representative represents the students' views wherever decisions are made or prepared at the university that affect the students' education or situation.

Universities are governed by boards, committees and other decision-making and preparatory bodies. It is through these bodies that education is planned, evaluated and developed. There are seats on these bodies designated for student representatives.

As a student representative, you participate in the group's work with the same rights as other members. This means attending meetings when you are invited and reading the documents in advance. It may also mean attending pre-meetings, where you will have the chance to prepare for the meeting. As a student representative, you are also part of a student representative council. This means that all student representatives at the union come together and discuss which issues they should jointly pursue to improve education. The councils are also advisory, and work to support and help you in your mission.

As a student representative, you will receive ongoing training and information from the union and the university on how best to carry out your duties, and you will have the opportunity to pursue issues and bring about change. The trainings are designed according to the needs and wishes of the student representatives. In addition, you will receive support from the other student representatives in the student representative council, from the union's paid and employed staff and from the university.

Full members receive invitations and documents for meetings and may attend all meetings. Alternate members should generally only attend meetings if one of the full members is unable to attend, but this varies between groups. Ask what applies in your group once you have taken up your position. Only full members have voting rights, and alternates only have voting rights if a full member is absent and they attend in their place. The same may apply to remuneration.

As a student at Uppsala University you have rights and obligations. Much of your study situation at the university is regulated by the students' working conditions, including that student representatives, in order to be able to participate in meetings of university bodies, are given the opportunity, when it is practically possible and financially feasible, to take compulsory course modules at another time or to replace these in another acceptable way.

the handbook for student representatives* is designed to provide you as a student representative with continuous support. the handbook goes through different parts of the university and the union. There are also many good explanations of how meetings usually work and a glossary of commonly used terms.

All student representatives receive a physical copy of the handbook when they participate in the training for student representatives that the faculty coordinator organizes, but it is always available digitally as well.

The opinion program describes what Uppsala Student Union stands for on different types of issues, for example, Uppsala Student Union thinks that students with disabilities should have opportunities for support in education. If you as a student representative need support on different issues, you can turn to the opinion program to find inspiration!

As a student representative, you will receive basic training on the role you hold. Every semester, our faculty coordinators organize several training sessions, where you go through student rights, meeting formalities, support from the union and much more!
We also invite you to thematic training sessions throughout the year, where you as a student representative get the opportunity for further training in specific areas that are important for your mission. If you have any questions, you can contact our faculty coordinator at klara.froberg@uskar.se.